In this film thesis I am looking at the themes of immigration, migration, civil war, genocide and freedom's effects on self-identity. In the process of filming my four South Asian grandparents, I hope to understand their lives better, and thorough their stories grow to understand the complexities of my own identity. Through the lens of understanding, this project is teaching me how to look beyond academia's promotion of scholarly evidence, and instead valuing oral histories and encouraging inter-generational conversations of self, of struggle, and of strength.


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About the filmmaker



Rebecca Dharmapalan is an artist and activist from Oakland, California. Her work is focused around the issue of Child Sex Trafficking and the abolishment of modern day slavery through creativity and solidarity. At UC Berkeley, Rebecca focuses is in several fields including Sociology as well as Global Poverty. Her first film "International Boulevard" was awarded Grand Prize at Girls Impact the World film festival presented at Harvard University, the Los Angeles Film Festival, Delhi's Indie Art Week and several more.


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